When Men of Good Will Live in Peace
by Code Green
Summary: Jareth pays Sarah a Christmas visit and finds that feelings have changed since the last time he saw her...


**Here we go! The first of about three chapters! I really didn't edit this chapter much, seeing as I wanted to get it out on Christmas Eve and it's now fifteen minutes until Christmas! However, I hope you'll find it enjoyable and you'll let me know what you think! I would like to finish the next chapter in time for Christmas Day, and the last chapter will be sometime after that, but seeing as it _is _the holidays, don't get too upset if I don't succeed! I will finish the story, however. Enjoy, and have a very Merry Christmas! **

The forest was perfectly quiet as the white owl swooped slowly through the sky, its wings barely moving as it soared in solitude. It had often flown over this forest, for at the edge of it was a great Victorian house, and in that house lived a young woman. She frequently came outside and inhabited these woods, running through them when she was angry, picnicking in them when the weather was warm, or riding her horse though them no matter was the weather was. She never did notice her observer floating over her in the clouds, watching from a distance but never coming near.

When she had refused the king's open invitation for her to see her dreams, to let him become a part of her, Sarah had returned to her world and had left the Labyrinth far behind her. But the Labyrinth hadn't left her, and neither had the Goblin King. He still loved her, for her character and beauty had invoked that most powerful of emotions in him long ago, and he could not release her from his heart. He would not approach her again, however, for his pride was also great and he could not bear the thought of abasing himself again.

So he stayed in his owl form and flew by day after day, admiring her from afar, wondering if she thought of him or even remembered him.

The ground was perfectly white, far beneath him. The ground was never this way in the Labyrinth, and he couldn't help but find it lovely. It was cold, yes, but gentle and quiet. He wanted to take a moment to simply be still and look at the falling snow, and so he swooped in low and came to rest in the boughs of a great pine tree. He could see the flurry of white spinning all about him, and he ruffled his feather, keeping it from getting to his skin beneath. The pure white occupied so much of his concentration and thought that he didn't notice one of the overhead branches, heavily laden with snow, swoop in the slight breeze and then break. It fell, hitting the unsuspecting owl firmly on the head, and the Goblin King toppled from the tree, landing harshly on the cold earth. One wing was stretched awkwardly at his side, and the blow sent his majesty into a world of darkness.

Jareth didn't hear the hoof beats plodding his way, pressing harshly into the frozen ground. He didn't feel a warm muzzle snuffling at his face. He would have loved to see the woman atop the snuffler's back swing off the horse and scoop him into her arms, but alas, he could see nothing for the time being.

Sarah had seen the owl fall, and she had ridden her horse quickly to the stunned animal. She had immediately dropped into the snow and scooped the bird into her arms, feeling sorry for him perhaps. She then got back into the saddle, held the owl close to her chest, and rode back to her home.

The Williams family had moved since Sarah was fifteen. She was now a woman of twenty-five, and she and her family had lived in their Victorian home with twenty acres of forest for the past nine years. Sarah loved this place, just as her parents had known she was, and she had spent many days roaming through the woods, imagining a small owl following her every move, watching her every step with multi-colored eyes. It was no surprise to her, then, that she now had such an owl in her arms, and after Snowdrift had been put into his pasture, she carried the dazed fowl up into a guest room.

She watched as its eyes began to move, signifying that it was coming back to its senses, and she couldn't help but smile as it tried to get up and flutter its wings. Its right wing was bent out of shape, wounded for certain, and Sarah put a hand to its wing to keep it still.

"You needn't be afraid, Goblin King. I know who you are," she said gently.

The owl almost seemed to blink then, and it fluffed its wings proudly, chirping in pain when it moved its wounded one.

"Jareth," Sarah chuckled, "just turn back into yourself. I'll be able to help your arm a whole lot better. I'm not much of a veterinarian, but I can help a human arm."

She stepped back, when a swirl of snow and glitter suddenly swarmed about the little creature, and she watched, a small smile on her face, as the owl changed into a tall human. The sparkles faded away, leaving in their midst the Goblin King.

"You knew it was I?" Jareth asked, an eyebrow arched.

"I had hoped so. Sit down, please," Sarah said, gesturing to the edge of the bed.

Jareth did as he was asked, and Sarah took his arm carefully in hers. She examined his wound, seeing that, as a human, he only had a large welt there. She reached over to her dresser and pulled out a washcloth. Without a word, she got to her feet and left the room, only to come back seconds later with the same washcloth, although now it was wet. She didn't speak as she placed it on Jareth's welt and tended to it carefully.

"You hoped it was I?" Jareth asked, puzzled, as he watched Sarah work.

"I did. I haven't stopped thinking about you since I got home so long ago," Sarah nodded, drying his inflamed skin. "I thought about everything you did for me and realized that I had rather mercilessly turned you away from your dreams while you were offering me mine. You were lonely. I don't want anyone to be lonely today, Jareth."

"What is today?"

"Christmas Eve."

"I'm afraid I don't know what this is," Jareth puzzled.

"Then I'm glad I found you," Sarah smiled warmly.

There was no trace of the defiant, hard-headed teenage girl to be found. Something had changed in her, and it had changed for the better. Jareth had, in making Sarah run the Labyrinth, forced her to see the importance of her family, and in doing so, she had grown to love every member, including Karen. Karen was now her mother, and Toby was her brother. She had accepted them with loving arms after the events of the Underground had taken place. She had learned the importance of good character and of showing kindness to others, and she had carried those lessons with her into her adult years. This was why she was so…forgiving. That was it. She harbored no ill feelings towards either her stepmother or the Goblin King, and now she was showing mercy, something the fifteen-year-old Sarah never would have shown.

"Yes, you helped change me," Sarah nodded, smiling at the Goblin King's curious expression. "Thank you, Jareth."

"You're…you're welcome," he stammered.

"Christmas, Jareth, is the day when Jesus Christ was assumed to be born. He's the Son of God, and He came to die for the sins of the world. You'll hear more about that at church tomorrow, if you stay long enough to go with us. Christmas Eve is the day before Christmas, obviously, and usually it's spent with family and friends. My family is actually downstairs. I haven't introduced you to them yet, but they do know about you. I told them the story of the Labyrinth, and they chose to believe. They'll be happy to see you. On Christmas Day, we open presents and eat a big feast. It's all fairly simple, and I would love for you to stay."

"I will gladly," Jareth said, still confused at her generosity. "Thank you."

"You did so much for me. I can at least return the favor," Sarah said softly. "Will you come with me, to meet my family?"

"Gladly," Jareth nodded, getting to his feet.

Sarah led him downstairs, and he followed her into a large living room with a roaring fireplace and a huge Christmas tree all aglow with lights. Sarah's family was sitting there, putting popcorn on strands of thread to stick on the tree, and they looked up when Sarah and Jareth stepped in.

"Dad, Mom, Toby, this is Jareth, the Goblin King."

To be sure, there was a long moment of silence before anyone spoke. When they did, they asked many questions and they seemed surprised, but they welcomed Jareth to the family. He had never been welcomed into a family before. No one had ever welcomed him anywhere. He was the defiant, all-powerful Goblin King. Never before had he been treated as a guest, as a friend.

Jareth was directed to sit down next to Sarah, and he did so, still amazed that this lovely woman wasn't afraid of him but treated him with a kindness he himself never had shown anyone before. Sarah showed him how to string the popcorn, and he tasted the treat for the first time, pleased with the taste, although the puffy stuff did get stuck to his tongue once or twice.

Warmth flooded the Goblin King as Sarah led him back up to the guest room after he had devoured a sufficient amount of popcorn and had swallowed several mugs worth of hot cocoa.

"It's so strange, having you back here, fitting in so nicely with my family, when it has been years since I've seen you," Sarah said as she walked up the stairs with him.

"Indeed. You have only become lovelier with the passing years, Sarah," he complimented, and she blushed, making him smile.

"Funny how we get along so well now, when before we hated each other," Sarah mused, stopping outside his bedroom door.

"Sarah," he tsked. "I never did hate you."

"No?" She asked with a slight smile.

"No," he said deeply, positioning himself so that he stood alongside her. He was leaning against the wall in a very familiar stance, his right arm stretched over her head and his face inches from hers. She remembered then, that moment in the damp tunnel with the Cleaners. She had provoked his fury and spurned his pride, hence the reason he had sent the beastly machine after her and Hoggle to begin with. But there had been longing in his eyes, a deep longing to be closer to her that she had completely missed as a young girl. Now, he had the some yearning deep within his brown and blue orbs, but Sarah understood the meaning. He desired to make her happy, to hold her and love her, and this time, unlike the first, her heart thudded wildly with reciprocating thoughts and feelings. Why indeed had she picked up that little owl out of the snow? She had known he was the Goblin King, and yet, that hadn't intimidated her. She had longed to see him again, had longed to be with him, and now that he was here, she was happier than she had been in a long time. She felt strangely fulfilled, and a faint blush swept across her cheeks as warm feelings lingered within her soul.

"I missed you, Jareth," she whispered, putting her arms around him and hugging him closely.

He started, surprised but certainly not disappointed by the contact. He wrapped his arms around her in return and squeezed gently, lowering his face so that he could catch a whiff of her sweet scent.

"And I missed you, my love. I am quite enjoying this holiday of yours. What happens tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow we wake up early and give each other presents," Sarah smiled into his jacket. "We have a huge, delicious breakfast, and then we go to church. Afterwards, we'll all spend time as a family, reading stories, no doubt, and having fun with our new things. The snow is supposed to let up a little bit tomorrow, so we'll probably go outside and do some fun things there. You'll join us, won't you?"

"Only if it pleases you," Jareth smiled gently.

"Of course it will," she smiled up into his face. "Odd how I can't understand how I once disliked you. There's just something special about you, Jareth."

"I do believe you're falling in love with me, Miss Sarah Williams," he chuckled, releasing her and opening his bedroom door.

"Falling in love," she sang, squeezing his hand gently in her own before she turned and made her way back down the stairs. "Good night, Jareth. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, my love."

Jareth smiled to himself as he listened to Sarah walking down the stairs, her cheerful voice singing rather the familiar song.

"But I'll be there for you as the world falls down.

Falling in love."


End file.
